Traditional implements for buffing the surface of fingernails are generally understood to have a file anchored to the surface of a lever for users to adjust the filing surface of the lever and the contact angle properly to the surface of the fingernail while buffing the fingernail surface. However, the fingernail surface is normally curved, making it difficult to polish the surface of the curved fingernail completely with files that have a flat surface. Toenails, in particular, have even more of a curvature than fingernails, making them especially difficult. In light of these circumstances, an invention of an implement for caring for the fingernail surface is being disclosed.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-8427 (hereinafter “Patent Literature 1”) discloses a nail enamel remover for fingernails and toenails that makes contact and friction only on the part of the fingernail and toenail. The nail enamel remover has an enamel coating with a fan-shaped curved surface.
In the present application, a sponge body is housed in a hollow cylindrical container wherein one (1) end of the sponge body with nail enamel remover infused within the sponge body is press-reversed inside the hollowed out part. This embodiment is disclosed in FIGS. 9 through 11 of Patent Literature 1. A fingertip can be inserted into the end opening where the sponge body in the cylinder is folded into, then the fingertip is rotated on the center axis of the sponge body to remove the nail enamel cleanly through the action of the remover infused in the sponge body and through the contact action with the inner circumference of the hollowed out part of the liquid sponge body and the nail surface due to the sponge body with the structure described earlier.
The structure of the nail enamel remover disclosed in Patent Literature 1 described earlier is somewhat restricted according to the thickness of the finger to be inserted into the finger protection sheath when, for example, it is used as a nail polisher, making it necessary to have a finger protection sheath according to the thickness of the finger to be treated, reducing the versatility of the implement where the user must have any number of implements ready to match the thickness of the finger to be treated. Versatility is reduced particularly for the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 1 as sizes appropriate for fingers cannot be used for toe care. Further, the sponge disclosed in Patent Literature 1 merely press-reverses one end of a thick cylinder with a simple shape as disclosed in FIGS. 9 through 11 in Patent Literature 1. Simply put, sponges with a larger diameter than that of the hollowed-out part are pressed into the hollowed-out part of the sponge, making for a non-uniform sponge compression rate on the portion where the sponge is folded and press-fitted, while the roughness of the sponge compressed into the hollowed-out part is irregular and not eye-catching. This makes providing a high aesthetic beauty aid difficult as it is used but stripped of the press-reversed part of the sponge. The sponge of Patent Literature 1 also exerts strong pressure felt on the fingertips when they are inserted into the press-reversed part of the sponge, while having a dissimilar and non-uniform repulsive force of the sponge acting on the fingertips. This makes it difficult to have a pleasant sensation on the fingertips when the sponge is rotated on its center axis. The roughness that can be press-reversed on the sponge in particular is not intentionally shaped with a regular pattern when the sponge disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is used in a nail enamel remover, but creates inadvertent roughness, thus its valleys (grooves) have especially poor shape retention. This is because the groove has a concave shape formed unintentionally by a large compressive force created on the sponge, thus the sponge has a particularly strong repulsive force at the grooves, a force that acts to eliminate the concave shape. The force retaining the “lam'” and “stone” used for nail enamel decoration is also particularly weak at these grooves due to the reasons described earlier which caused the problems of easily reapplying the lame' and stone when removing nail enamel with a nail enamel remover using the sponge disclosed in Patent Literature 1.
The purpose of the present invention in addressing the foregoing need in the art is to provide a sponge for fingertip care with a pleasant sensation by making the appearance of the folded part, when the sponge body in a thick cylinder is press-reversed in this hollowed-out part beautiful, form regular roughness on the press-reversed sponge body in the hollowed-out part and create friction on the fingertip surface using a homogenous force on the protruding part when they are inserted into this press-reversed part. The present invention will also provide a highly versatile fingertip care implement with a simple structure using this fingertip care sponge.